Category: Announcements

HP Lovecraft Film Festival VIRTUAL starts this Friday 12/5!

On By kristipetersenschoonoverIn AnnouncementsLeave a comment

HPLFF 2025 POSTER

We love our cosmic horror—it asks so many questions and makes us think. We also love short films.  So the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival, going strong since 1995, is our jam.

Hosts Gwen and Brian Callahan go above and beyond—the quality of this festival, from curation and content to pledge campaign rewards and collateral material—is top notch.

Although the in-person festival happened in September, the streaming edition arrives December 5-9, 2025, and you’ll be able to enjoy over sixty short films, several full-length features, author readings, and panels right from your living room.

TALES FROM THE EMMA COVER

This year’s thirtieth anniversary theme is Cthulu on the High Seas, so in addition, some contributors to the Lovecraftian Microfiction/Challenge from Beyond books, which always accompany the festival, were instead asked to write an X-files-esque story surrounding The Emma, a two-masted schooner that plays into strange events in Lovecraft’s story “The Call of Cthulu.” There are stories by favorites like Cody Goodfellow and John Shirley (34O editor Kristi Petersen Schoonover’s story “Compaction” is included too). The books will be on sale after the festival on Arkhaam Bazaar’s website.

If short films and cosmic/existentialist horror rocks your world, this festival is for you! You can purchase tickets for the December 5-9, 2025 streaming event here: https://hplfilmfestival.eventive.org/passes/buy.

Introducing DARKNESS MOST FOWL anthology and readings!

On By kristipetersenschoonoverIn AnnouncementsLeave a comment

Sometimes birdsong is dangerous.

If you love 34 Orchard and you want a volume full of tales that carry our vibe, don’t miss Darkness Most Fowl from The Godmother of Horror Press!

DARKNESS MOST FOWL ANTHOLOGY

This anthology was invitation only, and so writers we’ve recommended and several 34 Orchard alums build terrifying nests in this bird horror anthology! Edited by #7 “The Last Days”’s Elaine Pascale and featuring stunning art by Michael Takeda (#11, “Kintsugi”), others are Zachary Kellian (#6, “Shrike Song”), Die Booth (#1, “A Murder”), Ernest Ògúnyẹmí (#7, “The Flute”), Leen Raats (#8, “The Solitary Man”), Nicola Kapron (#3, “The Bodies We Should Forget”), Selah Janel (#5, “Mister Skinandbones”), Rob Frances (#4, “Everything Fits If You Push Hard Enough”), Robert Mayette (#8, “The Milestones on That Path”), L.E. Daniels (#8/“Weird Witness”), and ten other popular voices. From grackles and creepers to magpies and nightjars, these flights of dark fancy will claw your heart every time you hear beating wings.

Amazon link 

In the mood to be read to? Elaine has set up online readings! Schedule and days/times (with who’s reading so if you’ve got a favorite from a past 34O issue it’s easier to find them). Readings should be available at the YouTube link after the fact in case you miss the moment.

Wednesday, November 12 – 8 pm

 Kiyomi Appleton Gaines “Flight and Fawn”

Lee Andrew Forman “Old Ways”

Hideki Nakazono “The Heavens Demand”

Holley Cornetto “Guilded Cage” (34 Orchard recommends her book We Haunt These Woods)

Nikki Kallio “The Cardinal” (34 Orchard recommends her collection Finding the Bones)

C. O. Davidson “A Parliament in the Woods”

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfoqUGjaJZs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/3972255883024644

Friday, November 14 – 7 pm

 Nicola Kapron “Dirt and Ashes”

Robert Mayette “To Even Look at Me”

Ernest Ògúnyẹmí “Christmas Chicken”

V. Castro “Witches of Winchester”

Geneve Flynn “I Am Not Myself Today”

L. E. Daniels “Stomata”

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aTNA0KiITk

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1DnNac4kme/

Sunday, November 23 – 1 pm

Kristy Park Kulski “Magpie Teeth”

Leen Raats “Flock”

Selah Janel “Invasive”

Rob Francis “Skinflint’s Flock”

Die Booth “Little Gibbet”

Zachary Kellian “Predators of Paradise”

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3ofVc4NK9w
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/events/1453335772391314

HAPPY RELEASE DAY — ISSUE IS NOW LIVE!

On By kristipetersenschoonoverIn AnnouncementsLeave a comment

Hi folks,

A bit of a post scheduling snafu means the post that the issue was available went live hours before the actual issue.  The issue is now here at either of these links:

ISSUE 12

Issues

 

THANK YOU for your donations, and thanks for your patience! If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us on our contact page.

Kristi

 

HAPPY RELEASE DAY—HERE’S ISSUE 12!

On By kristipetersenschoonoverIn AnnouncementsLeave a comment

It’s here!

The twenty artists in this issue wander the corridors of longing, which is often considered a yearning for a person, object, or location. But it can mean so much more—and sometimes be the loneliest, most isolating emotion in the human experience.

As the purported “most wonderful time of year” approaches, for those who long for anything at all, it might actually be the darkest.

Welcome to the house so empty your own voice comes back to haunt you.

Welcome to 34 Orchard.

34 Orchard Autumn 2025 Final Cover

The downloadable PDF is designed so that it can be printed on double-sided paper for easy reading like a print magazine. As always, the issue is free, but there is a donation link should you choose to contribute.

Click here to get your copy!

If you like what you’ve read, spread the word!

Announcing the ToC for 34 ORCHARD’s Autumn 2025 issue: COMING MONDAY!

On By kristipetersenschoonoverIn AnnouncementsLeave a comment

We’re thrilled to present our table of contents for the Autumn 2025 issue, which will be released this Monday, November 10, 2025.

In Issue 12, twenty artists wander the corridors of longing.

When we think of longing, we think of desire, nostalgia, hope, regret, tenderness, desperation, and resignation. But its power shouldn’t be Continue reading “Announcing the ToC for 34 ORCHARD’s Autumn 2025 issue: COMING MONDAY!” →

HAPPY RELEASE DAY! ISSUE 11 IS HERE!

On By kristipetersenschoonoverIn AnnouncementsLeave a comment

The twenty-two artists of Issue 11 turn over new leaves—only to discover their tender undersides.

Most of the time, “turning over a new leaf,” although difficult, isn’t devastating. Sometimes, though, it means completely reinventing ourselves, letting go of what we used to hold dear, regret, grief, brutal honesty, and the inability to recognize our reflections in the mirror.

As we head into summer, here’s hoping any personal growth and change you’re facing isn’t as devastating as what these artists have imagined.

34 ORCHARD ISSUE 11 FINAL COVER

The downloadable PDF is designed so that it can be printed on double-sided paper for easy reading like a print magazine. As always, the issue is free, but there is a donation link should you choose to contribute.

Click here to get your copy!

If you like what you’ve read, spread the word!

Announcing the ToC for 34 ORCHARD’s Spring 2025 issue!

On By kristipetersenschoonoverIn Announcements2 Comments

We’re thrilled to present our table of contents for the Spring 2025 issue, which will be released on April 25, 2025.

In Issue 11, twenty-two artists tackle the challenges of a turned leaf.

34 ORCHARD ISSUE 11 FINAL COVER

Most of the time, “turning over a new leaf,” although difficult, isn’t devastating. Sometimes, though, it means completely reinventing ourselves, letting go of what we used to hold dear, regret, grief, brutal honesty, and the inability to recognize our reflections in the mirror.

As we head into summer, here’s hoping any personal growth and change you’re facing isn’t as devastating as what these artists have imagined.

 Cover: The Unwritable Entry – Walter H. Von Egidy

The Mirror Stage – Dana Wall

All the Pretty Reindeer – Stetson Ray

Fault/Forgiveness – Sarah Cannavo

Late-Night Calls – Amanda Bintz

Change in the House of Flies – Kai R. Hastur

What Hansel and Gretel Never Told You – Kristina Hals

Our Special Games – J.J. House

Origami – Yong Takahashi

I No Longer Work for Frito-Lay – Preston Lang

Lucy’s Treacherous Silence – Marcelo Medone

H.G. Wells on New Year’s Eve – Attar Topobroto

Progress – Teresa Sanchez-Reyes

Best Meal of the Day – LM Fontanes

Interior Design – Victoria Nordlund

Kintsugi – Michael Takeda

Fragment of Glassy Black Material – Sarah Jackson

Fool’s Gold – Keira Reynolds

Pinus taeda – Andrea Ferrari Kristeller

Faith – Richard Brush, Sr.

Talisman – Temidayo Temiloluwa

It’s Electric – C.R. Langille

Arrives here https://34orchard.com/issues/ on our issues page on April 25!

Our January 2025 Submissions Window is now closed.

On By kristipetersenschoonoverIn AnnouncementsLeave a comment

Our January 2025 window has just closed (wherever you are in the world, that’s 11:59 p.m. January 15; if you send work we’ll check your time zone, don’t worry). We are grateful for the approximately 2000 pieces of work that we received, and we have been working hard to get back to everyone as soon as possible.

If you have subbed within the last five days or so, please be patient as we continue to read. If you subbed earlier and haven’t heard from us, your work is likely still being considered for a spot in our current or upcoming issues, and you will likely hear from us shortly.

If you do NOT hear back from us by February 28, 2025–which is our deadline for responding to everyone–please reach out to us through our Contact form, or send us an email at 34orchardjournal@gmail.com.

Enjoy your spring!

 

34O book rec receives six Best-of-’23-Horror mentions

On By kristipetersenschoonoverIn AnnouncementsLeave a comment

WICKED SICK, a NEHW anthology

Kristi here! Last year, I recommended an anthology I co-edited, Wicked Sick, to 34 Orchard readers because it shares our aesthetic, so it might be in your wheelhouse if you like what you read here.

I’m thrilled to share that not one, not two, but SIX of the stories that co-editor Scott Goudsward and I selected for the New England Horror Writers’ Wicked Sick anthology are on the recommended reading list for Ellen Datlow’s 2023 Best Horror of the Year, Volume Sixteen! It’s the highest number of stories selected in a single volume in the Wicked series (and also the only one I edited).

Stephen Mark Rainey—who appeared in our inaugural Spring 2020 issue with the moving piece “Night Crier”—wrote a generous introduction for Wicked Sick, writing that “these authors reach into your brain, into your mind, and with surgical assurance cut and twist you around until it hurts. But in the majority of these works, you’ll find not just sympathy for and by the various characters but empathy — which, rather than despair or trauma or disgust, I would say triggers catharsis. Even when the Specter of Sickness triumphs, for him it is often a bittersweet, less-than-complete triumph.”

Wicked Sick’s stories mentioned in Datlow’s list are:

“Irish Wake,” Michael Deady

“The Tall People,” Catherine Grant

“House of Tupper,” Meg Smith

“The Cancer Ward at Midnight,” L.L. Soares

“Toad in the Hole,” Gevera Bert Piedmont

“The Cancer Eaters,” K.H. Vaughan

Others who have appeared in the pages of 34 Orchard also appear in Wicked Sick: Trisha J. Wooldridge, Kurt Newton, and Jenna Moquin.

While in wait for our Spring 2025 issue, Wicked Sick would make for a perfect January read. You can pick it up on Amazon for either a nice holiday gift or for yourself here: Wicked Sick.

 

 

ISSUE 10 HAS ARRIVED!

On By kristipetersenschoonoverIn AnnouncementsLeave a comment

This issue plunges into the cavern of feeling forlorn, lost, and left behind; sasquatches, mermaids, street dwellers, siblings and jobseekers watch as the world chugs on without them. But although abandonment may feel like a death knell, we shouldn’t underestimate its positive power: a woman seeks justice, a grieving spouse turns grateful, and a mother finds strength.

If you’re feeling forgotten as the grayer days of autumn darken into winter, 34 Orchard’s Autumn 2024 issue may offer the camaraderie and light you seek.

ISSUE 10 COVER - FINAL

The downloadable PDF is designed so that it can be printed on double-sided paper for easy reading like a print magazine. As always, the issue is free, but there is a donation link should you choose to contribute.

Click here to get your copy!

If you like what you’ve read, spread the word!